Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' surpasses 10 million admissions in South Korea

Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" surpassed 10 million admissions in South Korea on Sunday, distributor Universal Pictures said, becoming the year's second release to reach the milestone.

The film crossed the mark around 4 p.m. Sunday, 33 days after its Aug. 5 opening, hitting a milestone long regarded as a benchmark for blockbuster success in the country.

"The Odyssey" is the second 2026 release to top 10 million admissions, after director Jang Hang-jun's "The King's Warden." It is the 10th foreign film to reach the milestone in Korea, the first in four years, and the second by Nolan, following "Interstellar" in 2014. Counting both Korean and foreign titles, it is the 35th film to cross 10 million admissions here.

The nine previous foreign films to hit 10 million admissions in Korea are "Avatar" in 2009, "Interstellar," "Avengers: Age of Ultron" in 2015, "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 2018, "Avengers: Endgame," "Aladdin" and "Frozen 2" in 2019, and "Avatar: The Way of Water" in 2022.

"The Odyssey" has held the No. 1 spot at the Korean box office every day since its release. It passed 1 million admissions on its fourth day and 5 million on its 13th, then reached 8 million on its 24th day -- the fastest pace of any release this year.

The film, which adapts Homer's ancient Greek epic "The Odyssey," is the first in movie history shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, with a running time of 172 minutes.

Strong demand for premium-format screenings helped drive turnout: As of Saturday, more than 1.1 million moviegoers had seen "The Odyssey" in IMAX theaters in Korea, surpassing the roughly 929,000 IMAX admissions for "Avatar: The Way of Water" to set a new record.